March 25, 2013

With Easter just around the corner I thought I'd compile some fun Easter Egg crafts and tips I've found.

At Paas they have all the information you could ever want about dying Easter Eggs. They even have a helpful Egg Decorating Tips page that gives tons of information including different ways to hard boil your eggs (oven?? who knew?).

If the experts at Paas don't answer all your questions you can download the Martha Stewart Egg Dying App for $.99. It gives you the run down on different dying techniques and crafts for the dyed eggs. If you can come up with a question that Martha can't answer, you're asking the wrong questions.

After you're done dying all your eggs you can be crafty and green by using the empty egg cartons to make these precious candy holders. Over at Paper, Plate and Plane, Jeromina gives you all the deets.

March 23, 2013

Don't worry. You're not going crazy nor am I. I know the picture is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, not Connecticut. On my trip over winter break, I went to visit my aunt in Connecticut and then took the train down to New York with my cousin to spend a few days. It was fabulous! I got to have a wonderful white Christmas and then go to all my favorite New York spots.

Not super white Christmas, but white none the less.

While in New York I did some shopping and went to the Met. The Met is my absolute favorite place in the whole world.

My favorite painting -- The Blind Man's Meal by Picasso

After the Met, I ventured across the park to the Museum of Natural History. I had never been before and I loved it. Teddy Roosevelt is my favorite President, so of course I loved all the Roosevelt exhibits... maybe more than the dinosaur ones.

That night we went out to Beauty Bar a really fun old 1950s salon that has been converted to a bar.

My cousin and I at Beauty Bar.

Since this a long post. Just a link to Emily Post for the etiquette portion. If you haven't been you should.

March 21, 2013

Tonight one of my dear friends hosted game night. Of course, I could not let the opportunity to cook some goodies go to waste. For St. Patrick's Day, I made homemade Irish Soda with buttermilk, so I had a butter of buttermilk just sitting in my fridge. I had no idea what to do with the rest (no biscuits for me because I would eat the whole batch). So, I went searching for recipes with buttermilk and came across this one on Food Network (Chewy Sugar Cookies).

They were delicious and yes, chewy. The best way I can describe them is they were airier than regular sugar cookies. But they were a huge hit and definitely something I will make again.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat
in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add enough
of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.

Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place on a ungreased
cookie sheet. With a brush or fingers, moisten the top of each cookie
with the remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten the top of each
cookie. Sprinkle with raw sugar or colored sprinkles.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.